Tongs



June 21, 1955 D. H. MCGOGY TONGS Filed April 30. 1954 a m m m M; a... m a. w v H. N

United States Patent This invention relates generally to the art of hand manipulated tongs, and more particularly to the combination of a pair of chopsticks with a spring metal holder for holding and guiding said chopsticks in use.

It is well known that certain ingredients of salads; for

example, lettuce and any other leafy-type vegetable, are extremely diificult to pick up to either serve or to eat with a conventional fork. In view of this difiiculty, there are several forms of salad tongs on the market.

it is the principal object of this invention to provide a novel form of improved salad tongs. I

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved form of salad tongs employing a conventional pair of chopsticks in'combination with a spring guide to facilitate easy manipulation thereof.

Another object of this invention is to providean improved form of conventional salad tongs wherein a spring guide means is provided for keeping the ends separated by spring action and for guiding said ends when brought together so that they will always be in exact register with each other. 7

Various other objects of the instant invention will be come apparent in reading the following detailed specification in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a plan view embodying the principles of my invention and showing the preferred form thereof;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the spring guide element with the chopsticks removed.

" spring and guide member 16 is; bent inwardly, asshown at 33, to form a leaf spring} 'As best seen in Figs.*3

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a portion of the spring guide i element drawn to an enlarged scale, the view being taken on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 44 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a partial elevation of one of the chopsticks,

showing the details of the gripping face at the end thereof,

the view being taken on line 55 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a plan viewof a modification of the invention and shows the application thereof to a conventional pair of tongs.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly Fig. 1

thereof, there is disclosed a pair of tongs comprising two chopsticks 10 and 11 which have round, tapered lower ends 12 and 13, respectively, and square upper ends 14 and 15, respectively. The two chopsticks 10 and 11 are held by a spring and guide member generally indicated at 16.

Referring now to Fig. 2, the spring and guide member 16 is made by stamping from a single piece of sheet mate rial. The member is bent at its mid-point in the manner indicated at 17 to form two substantially parallel side portions 18 and 19. A rectangular bracket is generally indicated at 20 formed by two integral tabs 21 and 22 bent outwardly from the side edges of portion 18, adjacent the bend 17, and having their respective terminal ends 23 and 24 bent toward each other. A smiliar bracket 25 extends outwardly from the portion 19 adjacent the bend 17. A pair of tabs 26 and 27 are formed integrally with the portion 18 of the spring and guide member 16 inwardly, as indicated at 31.

' 37 enlarged in the pied by chopsticks fined in the appended claims.

spaced downwardly from the bracket 25. Tabs 28 and 1 29, also are bent so as to extend outwardlylfroin the spring and guide member 16.. V j V I 1 As can be seen'in Fig. l,.th e brackets 20 and 25 embrace and frictionally engage the, chopsticks 10 and 11, respectively, to'resist longitudinal movement thereof relative to the; spring and guide member 16, but at the same time permitting removal thereof to facilitate cleaning.

. The tabs 26 through 29 embrace the side edges thereof to maintain thechopsticks 10 and 11 in the same plane .to insure proper register when the lower ends thereof are brought together to pick up art-article ,tlierebetween.-

The side portion 18 of the spring and guide member 16 between the bracket 20. and the tabs 26 and 27 is bowed slightly inwardly, asindicated at30. Similarhnthe side portion, 19 of the spring and guide member 16 between the bracket 25 and the tabs '28 and 29 is bowed slightly The lower, end ofsi de. 18 .ofthe, spring and :guidemem ber.16 is bent inwardly, asshown at'32, to form a'leaf 5 spring, and similarly, the, lower end of the side 19; of the and 5, the

lower endof the spring .33Ihas two tab s 34 and and lies between said tabs 34 and s 35. ...The end ofkthe spring 32.is 'received lwithin the guide member 16 in proper parallel relation.

Referring now to Fig. 5, it will'be'seen-that the lower end of the chopstick 11 is provided with a toeportion plane perpendicular to the plane occu- 10 and 11, and that the face'of said toe portion opposed to the chopstick 10 is provided'with s a series of serrations 38. The lowerend of the chopstick 16 is provided with a similarly formed toe 39.

In the modification shown in Fig. 6, aconventional pair of salad tongs is indicated generally at-40 andcompriscs a U-shaped piece of sheet material having two legs 41 and 42. The lower ends of the legs 41 and 42 are each shaped into athree-pronged fork-like structureshown at 43 and 44, respectively. Two leaf-type springs 45 and 46 each have one 'of their ends fixed to the legs 41 and 42, respectively, and have their other ends in abutting relation with each other. As describedabove with respect to springs 32 and33,fthe lowerend of the spring has two tabs (only one of whichis shown at 47) extending at right angles from the spring 41 and embracing the side edges of spring 45 to prevent lateral movement thereof,

and maintain the forked ends 43 and 44 in proper align- The'lower end of the spring 46 ment with each other. is bent back at 48 to overlie the lower end of thespring' 45 in thesame manner as described above with respect tospring .32 and 33.

From the foregoing description, it maybe seen that I have provided a simple, efiicient tong'structure wherein the terminal ends of the tongs are spring-biased apart and wherein said terminal ends. are lateral misalignment with each other. 7

While I have shown and described the preferred form of my invention, it is obvious that various changesmay be made in its construction by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of theinvention as des V 2,111,339; Patented June 21,1955.

. a c im dibv i tabs 34 and 35 and the r'evers'ely bent end of the spring' .33, thus maintaining the sides 18 and19 of the spring and guided and braced against relation with each other, a pair of tabs formed integrally with one of said springs adjacent the lower end thereof and extending at right angles thereto to embrace the side edges of the other of said springs, and the end of said one spring being bent back over the end of said other spring and into the space between the ends of said tabs to form a pocket.

In a tong structure, the combination comprising a flat metal spring and guide member having two side portions substantially parallel with each other connected at their upper ends by a U-shaped bend, means on said spring and guide member adapted to hold a pair of chopsticks against and parallel to the outsides of said parallel side portions, a pair of leaf spring members formed integrally with said side portions and extending downwardly and inwardly therefrom with their lower ends in abutting relation, a pair of tabs formed integrally with one of said springs adjacent the lower end thereof and extending at right angles thereto to embrace the side edges of the other of said springs, and the end of said one spring being bent back over the end of said other spring and into the space between the ends of said tabs to' form a pocket.

3. In a tong structure, the combination comprising a flat metal spring and guide member having two side portions substantially parallel with each other connected at their upper ends by a U-shaped bend, bracket means formed integrally with said side portions and extending outwardly therefrom, a pair of chopsticks held by said bracket means adjacent the outsides of said side portions in parallel relation thereto, a pair of leaf spring members formed integrally with said side portions andextending downwardly and inwardly therefrom with their lower ends in abutting relation, a pair of tabs formed integrally with one of said springs adjacent the lower end thereof and extending at right angles thereto to embrace the side edges of the other of said springs, and the end of said one spring being bent back over the end of said other spring and into the space between the ends of said tabs to form a pocket.

4. In a tong structure, the combination comprising a flat metal spring and guide member having two side portions substantially parallel with each other connected at their upper ends by a U-shaped bend, bracket means formed integrally with said side portions and extending outwardly therefrom, a pair of chopsticks held by said bracket means adjacent the outsides of said side portions in parallel relation thereto, a pair of leaf spring members formed integrally with said side portions and extending downwardly and inwardly therefrom with their lower ends in abutting relation, a pair of tabs formed integrally with one of said springs adjacent the lower end thereof and extending at right angles thereto to embrace the side edges of the other of said springs, and the end of said one spring being bent back over the end of said other spring and into the space between the ends of said tabs to form a pocket, means on the lower end of one of said leaf springs for embracing the lower end of the other of said leaf springs.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

